The Spaniards
1500 AD - Present AD
In the 1500's, Spaniards began overrunning the Americas. They had
two goals: gain land for Spain and convert the natives to Catholicism.
They erected missions which were fort like structures used to educate the natives. These structures were used to
keep unwanteds out and hold religious services. Some Spaniards
taught the Indians new trades while others simply conquered the land.
Regardless of who initiated the violence, every act instilled hatred
against the white man and his ways. For many years, lots of fighting
occurred in the Southwest. Indians, desiring to have their land back, led
rebellions to recapture their land. In 1680, Pope who was a Puebloan medicine
man, led his people against the Spanish and successfully kept them out
for twelve years. Americans moving west actively practiced Manifest
Destiny. They thought that God had already willed them to have the
land, they just needed to claim it. Sometimes claiming involved rather
bloody means. In 1821, Mexico became a sovereign nation and
controlled much of the Southwest. In 1848, the United States began to
control most of the Southwest. Again, the Indians rebelled only to be
brutally crushed. The different tribes were forced on to
reservations. Today, Native Americans often live much as they once
did. The only exceptions are the few modern conveniences that they
have acquired such as cars, electricity and modern currency.
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